The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Archived Journals 1940 Chev 1/2 ton “Franken/Restomod”

Merry Christmas from the South-land. Looking forward to the latch install, I was thinking about doing that farther down the line.

Howdy folks, Happy New Year!

Sorry for the absence, I was going to post last week but I didn't really have much to say so I thought I would hold off until this week when I had completed some work and had more of an update.

I started in on the doors with the intent of installing the bear claw latches. Once I opened up the doors though I changed my mind. The folks I talked to about it when I was contemplating the mod were all "oh yeah, they are way safer and an important upgrade" once I got into it and it was looking like thing were not an easy fit... the tune changed somewhat.
Yes, the bear claw latches are more secure, however if your stock latches are working as designed and not worn they are still safe.
Okay, with that in mind, I have decided not to change them. It is not a cost thing, as the latches are relatively cheap at about 125.00 CAD. The install is somewhat intrusive as you need to cut a section of the door out to install the receiver/latch assembly. Reinforcing the cab when the latching post is mounted is recommended as well.
The sticking point for me was that I could not use the stock door handles. The latch release box is a kind of remote set up in that the door lever is connected with a cable to the latch rather than a direct linkage. The stock setup is a square post through a matching square receiver in the door, like a home knob set up. To make room for the latch release box, the bear claw would need to be moved down the door. Cutting and removing the stock set up and fabricating and installing the new latch mounts would be about 4 hours each I figure. I couldn't get past the fact that the latch boxes were set up for a Ford handle, but the stock door handles have some really nice detail cast into them. The latches were working smoothly prior to removing the door panels, however they are sticking now. I figure once I have repaired any wear, cleaned and greased them they will be good as new. I was pleasantly surprised as well at how solid the insides of the doors are. I am not sure if the sound deadener in there was original, but I know that the last guys to work on the truck did not replace it. ( splash and dash deluxe )

I have been procrastinating about finishing the box bed, I had not really thought deciding to make my own through thoroughly. A pre-cut kit would have all the holes line up and fit and would have been really nice and quick. Then I remembered that I had moved the cross rail supports as well, so absolutely nothing lined up. I had to move the cross supports to make room for the tubs, which are making room for the kick-[censored] oversize tires I chose! I love them boots!!!
Anyways, the domino effect is that nothing lines up hole wise. Wait, that is not completely true, the front and rear bed rail holes are okay, as they were not drilled yet. I have also reinforced the bed as I have mentioned before I intend on trucking my motorcycle around in the back so I needed additional support for the tie down system. I have been putting this off as I didn't have much enthusiasm about getting the brain juices worked up to figure it all out. Too bad princess, get'er done right, so I got to it and here is the result. I am about 75% done. I started by bolting the E-track down to the bed board it sits on. Then I started in the center and worked my way out bolting the rails down and drilling the front and rear end holes. I could then figure out where I need to add metal to securely bolt the tie down rails to the frame. I thought about using angle iron, but went with some 16ga sheet metal with 90deg edges for strength. I tend to lean towards the overbuilt end of the spectrum, bigger is better right?? I am hoping that my efforts to resist that don't come back to haunt me. I thought the sheet metal would spread the load out over a larger surface area allowing me to go with a lighter material ( compared to 1/8" angle iron ) You can see in the pictures how it turned out and I am happy with it so far. I needed the bolts to mount the tie down rails down as I need the heads to be flush so they don't interfere with the chrome bed strips. I am intending on bolting every 2nd hole on the tie down strips ( E-track ) , have a look at the pictures, even I think bolting every hole would be overkill.

Anyways, thanks again for following along.
Let me know if you have any comments or concerns, I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

See the attached word doc for the pictures.
Regards,
Steve

Hello Again;

Once again thanks for following along.

This week was a hectic one, but a fun one as well. I was able to work on the truck and get some good hours in, I think the total comes to about 28 hours.
I wanted to complete the bed and get that finished, however I did not...
You do your best with sales people, providing as much information as you can and most of the time it works out. This time it did not, I gave the fellow the catalogue number as well as the screw size/thread and length. I asked for a 10-24 x 1-1/4" long tapered head machine screw. What I got was a 1-1/4" wood screw, not good. So while I was waiting for the right screws to arrive I had some fun instead and got a couple of projects completed.
I have mentioned in earlier posts that I had re-purposed the stock fuel filler neck into a battery disconnect hidey-hole. I needed to make an extension for the key to be able to reach the switch as the original was only about 1-1/2" long. I think It turned out good and should be plenty strong enough so as not be damaged on my key ring.
The 2nd project I have been wanting to get done were the reverse lights. Looking around on the internet I have seen various lights, I liked the look of tucking them into the Bed rails the best. The ones that I saw were all in the 150.00 USD range and I wasn't sure how bright they would be. So I bought some LED lights, just the light only, no lens and got the brain juices flowing. They turned out really well, pretty much exactly as I envisioned them. However I am not sure if I really like them as the look, to me anyways is like something from 50's. Too pokey!!!
I will sit on them for now and think about it, I may need to go back to the drawing board.

The screws did show up on Monday afternoon, so I could get to work on the bed again. I needed to bolt the wood strip with the E-track on it down so I could get a measurement of how much I had to trim the outside boards to get the current spacing for the last ( outside ) boards. I got close, but had to clean up and get back to work ( the paying job ). I will be able to complete the bed on the next round at home.

Anyways, pictures as usual...
Let me know your thoughts on the reverse lights, I am curious what you all think.

Regards,
Steve

I like the concept of what your doing with the reverse lights, form and function seem great. As you said though the mounting doesn't to fit the look of your truck, perhaps if they were inset flush into the bed rail, just a thought.

Hey there TUTS;
Yes, I had thought about that. The existing lens is just..... big enough that it won't slide into the rail.
I think the interference is about 0.050" so I could put them on the lathe and sand/trim the lens down to fit.
I don't think it would make the lens too thin as it is tapered so the base ( where it is thickest ) is where the material would need to be removed.

Thanks, for the reply I appreciate the input.
Steve

Steve! Looking very nice! I quite like the idea of the lights and sort of like the stick out look for some reason. Looks “aerospace”- ish to me. You should stop wrenching on your truck and come work on mine. Please. Like right now. I’ve been making puppies in my shop for a long time. I tried to work on my door a week or so back. Tried... 🤣😔

Hey fox;

Young children take priority, enjoy the time you have with them as they grow up so fast. Geez that makes me feel old to be spouting"old guy" wizdoms...

I neglected to mention that the lenses are up-cycled from HD motorcycle signal lights. Also, I made a drawing if anyone is interested. I think I may have posted it, but can't remember for sure.
If you are interested, PM me and I can reply with the drawing. There are a couple of modifications that need to be made, but the overall design works well and is easily adaptable to bigger/smaller sizes.
The LED lights were 30.00CAD off Amazon, the lenses were 20.00 from the local bike recycler and the raw aluminium was 30.00 for 1.5" x 24" long round bar.

Steve

Hello all;

Thanks for checking in this week, sorry to disappoint but this will be a short update. At least regarding the truck build.
I did work on the truck and I was hoping to complete the bed install, however I did not get much time in, so the bed install was not completed.
A couple of interesting things happened which limited my shop time.
The first, was that I had committed to working the SoCal "road show" with the shop owner where I am building the truck.
SoCal, at least the Canadian version of it, operates a travelling set-up and attends swap meets and car shows. The show attended was the Calgary World of Wheels ( WOW ) event.
Since the owner is generously allowing me to use the shop, this was a way for me to partially pay him back for his generosity.
My wife and I drove down to Calgary Friday afternoon and after visiting family for a couple hours we worked the show for a few hours. Saturday was 9-9, and then rinse and repeat for Sunday. Sunday had the extra fun added in of tearing down the set-up, loading up and then travelling back home. Though the Sunday show hours were actually only 10-6, by the time we had tore down, loaded up and drove home it was past 11:30 when we crawled into bed.
Here it is a week later and my legs and back are still aching from the standing around! I have attached some pictures of what I considered the highlights of the show. There were about 200 cars on display, some very nice builds for sure. There was a good turnout from all brands and years, though the early Chev trucks ( pre-1960 )were not represented at all. A little disappointing, but hey it gives me fuel to complete my truck and get it out there. I only wish I was into the car show scene, I mean I love to go and see, but I have no real desire to show...
The second thing to happen was the shop had a fire. It was pretty bad, though no one was hurt the entire shop came close to burning down. What happened? A 1970's vintage Mopar was in the shop to get the floor repaired . The underbody had been coated in the usual undercoating stuff which smoldered and then caught fire. The really interesting part was that the car was up on a hoist, so when the car was discovered on fire - think 6' flames!!! the car had to be lowered to the ground before any kind of fire-fighting could be done. The fire dept. was called in and opened the ceiling up to verify the fire had not made it into the attic space, so the shop was saved, however the car is considered a total loss.
PSA moment... Do you have insurance for your build? I had actually just put insurance on my truck to cover it from fire and theft the week prior. I discovered it is really quite economical and considering the hours I have invested I figured it would be a shame if it was lost. I do not have it insured for the estimated completed value, I will once it is complete. For now I have it insured for what I have into it parts wise.

That is it for now, take care and in the words of Don Cherry; "keep your stick on the ice!"
Steve

WOW... You had a full week! Glad your truck wasn't damaged in the fire.. Most folks don't consider insurance on something that is being worked on, good advise.

Hello all;

Thank-you for checking in and following along.

Have you all stocked up on toilet paper? I honestly do NOT understand what that is all about, but whatever, to each their own!

I got 30 hours in on the truck this week. I completed the bed wood install as I have been trying to get done for a while now. That felt good to say I am done. I do have the trim pieces around the mini-tubs to compete so it is not 100% done, though I am not going to do that portion so I will call it a win. I am having Dean, the metal fabricator do them so I may need to assist, however I am hoping they will be done when I return. I did not take any more pictures as I have lots of the bed and they all really look the same....
The other thing I have been meaning to get to is the front clip. The hood gaps have been difficult to troubleshoot as they are all over the place. Some of the gap issues are due to the factory tolerances from and some are from the body/chassis swap. For those that may have just started to follow along, the body is from a 1940 - 1.5 Ton truck and the chassis is from a 1946 1/2 Ton truck. I figured I was a little high on the shim for the radiator support and as well the whole clip needed to come forward about 3/8". For the clip to pull forward I needed to slot the mounting holes for the bumper brackets. Once that was complete I figured I should install the hood correctly to accurately check gaps as I had just been sitting the hood on the radiator shroud up until then. To do that I figured I would put on the hood ornament. Well, the hood ornament had a broken foot which I figured I might as well take a crack at fixing. Someone previous to my ownership had damaged the footing and attempted to repair it. The repair was substandard, see the photo, to say the least. Of course the metal is crap so welding it is a complete crap shoot, so i can understand why the 1st repair came out badly. I decided against welding so I cut/ground away the sides and then fabricated the replacement base. The gaps opened up a little when it was all welded together, but I intended on filling the base with epoxy to lock it all together and I can fill in the gaps that way. Once sanded smooth and then painted, or possibly powder coated it will look good as new.

I have attached some pictures of the hood ornament repairs.
That is about it for now, thanks for your time.
Steve

Very clean repair, as you said once it's painted you will never know. Great work.

Hello all again;
It is my sincere hope that everyone is healthy and staying safe through these unprecedented times. There is so much BS and false news, so use a reliable source to get informed and avoid the panic. I would also suggest setting a limit when watching the news as I noticed my wife became more and more stressed and upset watching the constant coverage. While you need to stay informed you can only take so much before it starts to get to you.
Here ( Alberta, Canada ) the response has been unprecedented. Pretty much everything is closed, schools, sports and public gatherings and the streets are almost empty even during our small town "rush hour".For part of my commute to work I have to fly, using the Edmonton International airport and it was eerie as I have never seen it so quiet.
Due to the request to isolate, I spent more time than usual working on the truck. My total for the week was 35 hours. The shop was still open, though it was closed to the public so I felt it was isolated enough to count.
I picked up where I left off trying to get the hood and fender gaps sorted out. You know how it goes, once you drop down the rabbit hole you are never quite sure where you will end up. I removed the front fenders and sand blasted them. I found less damage than I was expecting, so that was positive. There is some hammer/dolly work to be done and may wind up replacing the wheel opening lip, as it is quite rough and there is evidence of previous repairs. Looking at the opening, the leading edge could use some re-shaping to follow the tire contours better. I have included an older picture to show the wheel opening.
I removed the hood sides from the top sections and sand blasted the top sections. Again, they are not too bad. The passenger side has some lead from an older repair, and there are some stress cracks, but overall it looks good. I will cut out the lead repairs and also I think I will fabricate some reinforcing strips to beef up the 90 deg bend in the center where the hinge bolts on. The stress cracks are all centered out of that area so the reinforcing will certainly help.
The rabbit hole I speak of goes something like this; to get the gap between the fender and the hood I need to lower the fender, cutting out another ¼”. To lower the fenders I needed to adjust the fender supports. To get the gaps around the remaining hood openings I need to tilt the grill shroud forward. To tilt the grill shroud I had to add some length to the support rod and so on, and so on᠁
Back to the fender supports, they turned out pretty good so far. The original ones were in tough shape. The passenger side was welded to the frame when I started so it got cut loose and is missing the foot. The other side has a bunch of welds and stress cracks as well as the holes don’t line up so they are garbage. I liked the look of them though and wanted to replicate it, using a press and some round bar I think I came pretty close. I was concerned about the press handling a thicker material so I used 18ga steel and then laminated them together. I still need to fabricate the feet and upper mounts, but I will get the fenders completed and in place before cutting them to length and finish welding them.

Well, I think I have rambled on long enough so that is all for now.
Keep safe and healthy,
Steve

Looking good, Steve! I envy those tools you’re using! 🤤 I’ve always had a soft spot for the 39/40 Chevy truck. I can’t wait to see this one fully dressed out. Keep wrenching, fella and stay safe.

Hello folks;

I hope this post finds you all sane, safe and healthy...

A short update as I am still at work. Well technically I am working, from home that is and I am thankful that I am able to do so. There are many others who are not.

I have not been to work on the truck, even though I am home I am working 6AM-6PM which does not leave any time for much else than a shower and some meal prepping.
And dishes, lots of dishes. We have not replaced the dishwasher yet, after the small control board fire, and let me tell you that I miss that machine!
Between the dishpan hands and all the extra hand washing for the COVID Virus I have some seriously dry hands.

Anyways, the point of this post was that I had forgotten to tell you that I got my 1946 speedometer back from refurb.
It looks great and seems to work too, a real plus.
I have not installed it as the weather is really not cooperating here, it is trying to snow again today as it has the past several days.
The 46 is still in storage so once I get it out and install it I will have an other update.
This is really not the best place to post this, but it is my space and I will take a detour once in a while if I want to...

The needle is new, as is the odometer. The cross shaft had snapped which is why the odometer worked but the speedo did not.
I only have a couple of pictures, but they are attached.

Before I recommend the place I used I want to install and test the speedo to be sure it works properly.
Once I am sure everything is as it should be I will post again and recommend the fellow.
I was super happy with the service, promptness and pricing so I would like to give him a recommendation.

stay safe, and I will be back soon,
Steve

Nice!! Who does these? Mine didn’t work and I’d like to get it redone.

Good day all;

I responded to Tony292 privately with the contact info for the speedo company as requested.

I responded privately as I do not want to broadcast the company until I confirm all is working correctly and am confident in my recommendation.

Once I install and confirm it works properly, I will be happy to wave the banner and send people their way.

That said, if anyone wants to proceed at their own risk I will happily provide the contact info through a private message.

Be safe, Be happy...
Steve

Hello all;

Once again thank-you for checking in and following along.

Since my work schedule has changed, it feels like it has been forever since I have checked in or posted. ( 2 weeks )
I did some good work, focusing mostly on the hood area as I work to get that fixed up and repaired, etc..
I received the antenna I had ordered so I took the 15 minutes it took to mount that. I decided on the passenger side and placed it in line with the door seam. Why the passenger side? I actually preferred the drivers side as it would not impede my visibility as it would hide in the "A" pillar blind spot. My wife seemed to have a strong opinion though, so I went with her suggestion. The antenna I bought is a VW antenna and came as a nice kit for a very reasonable price. The antenna is well made and I would recommend it if you like that style, the supplier is www.CIP1.ca though they are a US based company with shops in both US and Canada.

I chose some nice side view, swan neck mirrors and placed that order. I hope that they arrive before my next days off so I can get them installed.

As previously mentioned, I worked mostly on the passenger side hood piece. Once the paint was removed there was some lead from an earlier repair which I cut out and installed a new patch. There were a few cracks, which were repaired earlier and had cracked again so I thought that some additional re-reinforcements would be a good idea. I added a strip on the end of the hood, closest to the cab as well as a hinge support as well. That really made a difference as the piece was quite floppy before but is now very stiff. I worked for about 2 hours with hammer and dolly to remove much of the dings and low spots. That way when the truck ( eventually! )goes to be body worked it should only require a small skiff of filler. I also included a peek at my welding skills, very much improved! The weld on the end was thin and tricky but came out quite well.

I finished up the passenger side and then moved on to the drivers side. I was motoring along as I wanted to get the drivers side to the same point as the passenger side before going back to work. Alas, it was not to be... At some point the hood hinge flange was re-bent moving it over about 1/8" The passenger side was pretty straight, but the driver side has a bow of over 1/2" and I need to figure out how I am going to fix that. I had to order a new center hinge so I am waiting for that to arrive which gives me time to decide on the direction I want to go. I can either cut out an "eye" which will let me hammer the bend over to straighten it before re-welding. Another option would be to remove the hinge flange altogether and weld in new one. I am leaning towards the "eye" method as I was really impressed with how much stronger the piece was with the reinforcement in place.

The last 2 pictures attached I wanted to show you all the car that Dean is building. If you are just joining in on the conversation, Dean is the fabricator here at the shop and my "GURU". This is a 1936 Ford sedan which is "transitioning" to a coupe when done and he is grafting a 1932 DeSoto front end on. I really like the look with the DeSoto front end as it lengthened the car by 8" and gives it that long 1920's look to the car. The front end of the donor car was missing/smashed and Dean is planning a full custom look anyways. The roof has bee chopped, a coupe bum is going to be grafted on. Mustang II IFS and air bags in the rear. Fender skirts, low and sleek with a Gold paint when completed. I think he said the dash is coming from a Buick...

That is all for now, stay safe and be smart.
Steve

Hello again all;

Thanks again for following along.

I bought a used Holley 4-barrel carb. The model is "Street Avenger" pretty catchy huh? Sounds kinda mean, I didn't know it at the time but I like it none-the-less.
I bought the carb last fall, started the tear-down and got a little intimidated. Lots of moving parts and I found I needed more parts than just a gasket kit. The float bowls were lined with something to improve their liquid-tightness which was peeling away. So, I procrastinated through the winter as my garage at home is not heated, but finally got around to ordering parts. Now that it is nice again ( fair weather mechanic ) I wanted to try to soda blasting the parts and found some plans on the internet. I was able to scrounge up the required parts from stuff I already had on-hand so the cost was zero. Add to that, I used the old fridge baking-soda deodorizers for my blast material and the whole project cost me zip! I used 2 of the small boxes to get everything done. I probable could have used a little more but it worked out good enough.

The soda blasting process worked well; the design was simple and involved using a length of tubing, making a small hole to poke the air nozzle through and going to town. I left about 1" of tubing on the end and cut a 45 degree bevel on the end that went into the baking soda box. I held the tube in the box of soda, moving it around to keep the material flowing. The only advice I would give is to wear a face-shield and shower after you are done. I washed up and had dinner and what-not, it was a couple hours later I noticed my face was burning. It felt like a mild sunburn, nothing serious but worth noting. Maybe a dust mask as the baking soda doesn't taste very good either. Once done blasting you can wash up your parts in water and dry thoroughly, very easy clean up.

I am back at work, but since I am working from home I have been using my time in the evenings to finish up the carb rebuild. Once I got my head wrapped around what I was doing, and with the help of some Youtube videos and online resources, I think I have this thing licked. I will say that I am disappointed in Holley for their obvious lack of real information to help the DIY guy. The only instructions included were a blurry exploded view diagram. The parts included in the rebuild kit are not labelled, so the list included with the exploded view is useless. That said, once you wrap your head around it, it did seem to come together. There are couple of things I am not sure of, the big one is which power valve to use. 3 came in the kit and there are no explanations included as to when to use which so I have some more researching to do. For now I have used the same size as what was in the carb originally.

So there you go. If anyone is thinking of rebuilding their carb, try out the home built blaster, it is cheap and effective. I think I had to hit a couple stubborn spots with a wire brush before going over them again with the blaster to get things cleaned up.

Stay safe,
Steve

I always liked polar bears! I have a few sheets similar to those in my shop. Don’t tell my Mrs.!!

Looking good fella!

Hello again:

I have been trying to post something for a few days and am having difficulty with getting pictures attached. I recently replaced the computer and it does not have Microsoft Office on it and for as much as I use the computer I really do not want to spend the money to buy the office suite or a subscription so I have been trying to figure something out. I have a bunch of pictures to post, so I tried a web based program. However, I am so frustrated at trying to sort out the formatting and then save it as a file type the Stovebolt website will recognize, only to discover the file size is too big! I give up... for now.

I got some really nice side view mirrors, swan neck with 4" round mirrors. they are installed and look great.
I got a hidden tailgate hinges ( chain eliminators ) and installed them. Tomorrow, I am installing the lock pins.
I stripped the interior and have been busy sand blasting everything, then painting the hidden parts with aerosol can paint.
I am gathering a bunch of items together than can be painted ( professionally ) and another box of items to be powder coated.

If anyone has a suggestion for posting the pictures please let me know as I am open to ideas.

Later,
Steve

There should be some sort of picture management system on your new pc... i can't imagine that there isn't. I use my iphone to take 99% of my pictures, then email them to myself using the smaller file option.

If it's a windows computer then it probably has 'microsoft photos' to view pictures with.
In the upper right corner is a button with three dots that opens a menu with a resize button.

Windows computers also come with Paint installed, which can be used to edit pictures, including resizing them. Right click on the file, and select edit, and it should open Paint. It's pretty basic so you're not apt to get lost in it like some of the commercial photo editing programs.

You didn’t mention if you have tried using the Stovebolt Image Posting feature. Instructions are in the left margin of every page. As long as your photos are stored on your computer you can load them on our Image Manager. Many of our Forums are lacking updates in their individual instructions for use and still mention importing photos from a hosting site. This is no longer necessary.

Hey there;

Thank-you to those that replied with suggestions on how to post the pictures. I remembered our old laptop which still has a version of office installed on it. I have done the usual photo set up that I normally do and will post the pictures from the side view mirror install.
My next post I will try the photo attachment method.

Thanks again,
Steve

Welcome back!

Alright so I tried attaching the pictures directly rather than in the word document. Let me know if there are any issues.

The pictures are from the other day when I stripped the interior. I still have the dash to remove, but all the windows are out and the doors are stripped too. I blasted everything and started painting all the hidden parts. Interesting, at least to me, is that gloss black is different between brands of paint. Okay, maybe not that interesting but I didn't think they would be that different. Good to know though, I am glad the parts I was painting are hidden.

I will post more soon, getting lots done.
Steve

Photos are good. Progress is being made.🛠

Steve, where did you get the steering column? I’m curious if something like that could replace my ‘70 c10 3spd column for an automatic?

Hey Fox;

I got the column through the SoCal shop. They would for sure have something, they come in SS or CS to be painted. You can get a column shift or no shift (floor shift) they come in tilt versions too. You need to measure the length as they come in 28”, 30” and 32” lengths. The GM versions come pre-wired with the GM connector so they are pretty easy to install too.
Cost is 375.00 to about 425.00 depending on the finish and if you want tilt.

Hello again;

Still catching up, I am confusing myself with what I have and have not posted.
As I posted before I installed the tailgate hinges and with them locking pins.
Here are the pictures from the pin install.

And yes, I did screw it up...
Haha, the 1st pin went fine and I was excited to get the job done. I marked out the lines same as the 1st side.
Except, I used the wrong line for the slide slot. The hole drilled on the side was in the correct place, but the slide was, ummm not.

Well I can laugh about it now, but at the time I may have said a couple bad words.

Enjoy,
Steve

Hello again;

So an interesting development...

Due to the whole COVID thing and the economy in the toilet the price of oil dropped through the floor and with it a few thousand jobs... mine included.
No worries, all good here I was thinking I would take some time to work on the truck and/or house. Well fate works in mysterious ways, I am working again, for now at the hot rod shop. Yup, you are looking at the newest shop gopher, sand blaster ( nasty, dirty work ) and body prep work, oh and training painter!
How cool is that? So how this came about is like this. The previous body person left to self isolate when the whole COVID thing started to get heavy. Having lung issues and being prone to pneumonia self isolation was a good choice. After 2 months though, the shop needed them back and while they initially agreed to return, when the time came they ultimately decided to not return. So in the interim I am filling the void. I get to learn the body work side which will save me money later and I get paid to learn!
I am really enjoying the work, though I am too tired now to work a full day and then work on my truck. So it is a Good thing this is temporary.
Psst, don’t tell anyone but I worked on a 1950 Dodge today, I felt so dirty. Tomorrow I get to spray it in epoxy primer.

I will post some pictures soon.
Stay safe, stay sane.
Steve

Hello again, long time no see;

I won't apologize for being away so long, crazy times these are for sure. I have been working full-time hours at the shop and besides that I am finalizing details for a home Reno project which requires cleaning out the garage of all it contents. I have been busy sorting through 20 years of accumulated "stuff" and then packing it off to storage.
The other day, I did take some time to work on the truck. My son, who is in the army gave me a couple of spent shell casings when he was last home. I wasn't sure how I was going to use them, but it turns out they are the perfect size to fit the box rails. I cut them off, drilled a hole to use a screw to lock them in place and then used my favorite tool... The rivnut tool!
They look good to me and I once they are painted you will have to really look to see them. Not that I am trying to hide them, but I like when people hide "Easter eggs" and other details so I wanted to include some in my build.
I will post again soon and try not to stay away again so long.
Happy 4th of July to all!

Take care,
Steve

I like your outside the box thinking. Those shell casings look good in their new home.

Rob

What calibre of shell are they?

I like the 20MM Shell Casing touch, adds an unknown detail to the bed. What I really like tough is the way you filled the gap between the cab and bed, your running boards show a lot of work. Nice job.

20 MM X .03937= .7874"

Ed

But the head of the shell casing must be pretty close to 1.5 inches to fit inside the bed roll. 20 mm is the bullet caliber.

Cool custom touch.

Hello all;

Thanks for the positive reinforcement, it is good to hear.
The shell casings are for a 25mm/1” gun and the main body of the casing is indeed 1.5”

Regards,
Steve

Hello again;

Thanks for checking in and following along.

I have been working on the hood. I bought a new center hinge so I have been fitting that. At some point the 90 deg bends on the hood for the hinge mount were re-bent. The new hinge is of course a different bolt spacing so since I will need to redrill the holes I am going to replace the hood bends. The re-bent sections had a curve to them which when bolted up gave the hood a twist so besides having fresh metal there I am hoping to remove the twists with the extra work.
On another note I have decided to have the last of the metal work done by the shop. I have hit a wall and cannot seem to get around it. I have been getting more and more frustrated as I am feeling out of my depth. This is Causing me to second guess myself and has pretty much slowed my progress to a crawl. This next week, the shop is not busy so I will have the "GURU" get it done. I am proud of the amount of work I have been able to complete on my own so I am feeling very positive about this decision and am looking forward to getting to the next stage. I am having the hood work completed, including completing the hinge install. The front fenders need to be finished too, and once that work is done I can move on to the next stage.
I do have a few items I need to take care of. I need to build the seat frame and mount the seats and seat belts. I want to install a torsion bar in the rear suspension, as well I have to narrow the sun visor. I have to fit the new wiper motors and weld up the holes from the deleted cab lights.
Oh, I forget if I mentioned it, but a while back I had asked if anyone knew what the fitting mounted to the rear cab roof on the driver's side was. I initially thought it was for a tarp strap or possibly something load related. A customer came through the shop and pointed it out and knew what it was. It is for a semaphore, or signaling device. That was very exciting to learn what it was for as it was a mystery to be solved!

Well, I will shut it down for now. Take care and stay healthy.
Steve

Hello again;

Thanks for checking in and following along.

Since my last post regarding having some work completed through the shop I have been like a child waiting for Christmas morning! I was expecting work to start last Monday, but nothing got started until Friday afternoon. Work continued today and the progress is really good. The hinges are completed and the hood looks really good. Dean "guru" has moved on to the fender and spent most of the day hammering out dents and completing the section welds. Next up is the replacement of the wheel opening which will remove the trashed lip as well as reshape the opening to fit the wheel.
I am very excited to see the progress...

I will post again soon,
Stay safe.
Steve